Our view: Smelly situation, but unnecessary expense

By the Midland Daily News

Published
9:00 am EDT, Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Let’s face it, the shenanigans committed by former Rep. Roy Schmidt and others when he switched to the Republican Party in May 2012, just before the deadline for the August primary election, were an embarrassment to all involved with the scandal.

Schmidt came under fire when it was learned he had his son offer a 22-year-old friend $450 — later $1,000 — to run as a Democrat in the Grand Rapids race. The smelly situation also involved House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, who had a role in Schmidt’s party switch, but says he knew nothing about the scheme to come up with an opponent in the race.

The whole situation stunk and was filled with poor decisions.

That said, we are troubled by the fact that the state of Michigan is now out $53,000 because the initial finding of the Kent County prosecutor was not good enough for Michigan Democrats. That prosecutor, William Forsyth announced in July 2012 that his investigation into the situation showed that Schmidt and Bolger broke no election laws, but that the two men had embarrassed and offended him as a Republican.

That should have been the end of the matter. But Democrats were not satisfied with Forsyth’s findings and pushed for a one-judge grand jury in Ingham County. That judge, Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie Aquilina, ruled on Friday that an “exhaustive and diligent” investigation of Schmidt and Bolger revealed that no crimes or wrongdoing had been committed.

The bill for the attorneys who conducted that investigation totaled $53,000. We suggest the Michigan Democratic Party reimburse the state for this cost, since it was a totally unnecessary expense.